Professor Michael P. Collins of the University of Toronto talks about the Engineering Science program at UofT. He describes EngSci as an "honours engineering program" and as the most advanced engineering program in the english speaking world. Professor Collins is the Bahen-Tenenbaum Chair of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto, and is a widely respected researcher who developed the Modified Compression Field Theory to describe shear stress on concrete beams. The MCFT has since been used to form the basis of the Canadian Concrete Code's shear force calculations.
www.ted.com Too much of the world lacks access to clean drinking water. Engineer Michael Pritchard did something about it -- inventing the portable Lifesaver filter, which can make the most revolting water drinkable in seconds. An amazing demo from TEDGlobal 2009.TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at www.ted.com Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com Checkout our Facebook page for TED exclusives www.facebook.com
05 October 2009 In July, British soldiers and I boarded a CH-47 helicopter at Camp Bastion for the flight to FOB Jackson at Sangin where fighting is brutal. The helicopter was so stuffed with men, gear and supplies that the cargo was not even strapped down. We steadied the long stack with our hands and prayed that the pilots not begin flying violent evasive maneuvers. The tail gunner partially lifted the ramp to prevent bundles from tumbling into the skies, and that was it for securing the bundles. Just a week before, a giant MI-26 helicopter was shot down on final approach to this same landing zone. All aboard died in flames, as did two children on the ground. This is, interestingly, the same landing zone where I would make the photos for The Kopp-Etchells Effect, dispatch, which was published in many languages around the world. Many readers have weighed in with ideas about the causes of the glow. Some say the cause is St Elmos fire or the triboelectric effect, or perhaps the piezoelectric effect. The actual cause does not seem to be surely known, according to J. Gordon Leishman, D.Sc.(Eng.), Ph.D., FRAe.S., Minta Martin Professor of Engineering, Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland. I dont know. Maybe its caused by angels. It definitely is beautiful. We need more gear and more forces now. We can outfight these enemies and we can win the war, but at this rate a favorable outcome is difficult to imagine. This war shows signs that it will ...